Page 70 of Right Place, Right Time (Second Chances)
***
“Talk,” Sean demands once we’re seated in a booth. Harry’s is a rundown bar and grill that has seen better days, but the food is amazing.
I slide my glass of sweet tea between my hands. “Where do I start?”
“How about the part where you fucked up? Last time we talked about your girl, you thought you were in love with her. Next thing I know, you’re back here, more sour than a lemon. What happened?”
I give Sean the abbreviated version of what went down between Kate and me. I tell him about the ill-fated lunch with her parents and my subsequent thought process. I tell him what I’d said to her back at her apartment. He can sense my shame from across the table; I can see it in the pity in his eyes.
“From everything you’ve told me about this girl, she seems like a tough chick. You didn’t give her enough credit.”
My hands tighten around my glass. “I don’t want that life for her. I don’t want her to have to worry about what people think aboutmeall the damn time.”
“Why don’t you let her choose what life she wants?”
I shake my head. “She’s all caught up in the romance and the love. She’s not considering the reality of it all.”
“And you are? Sounds to me like you’re a little caught up in the romance and the love, too.”
I raise an eyebrow at him. “What the fuck are you talking about?”
“The guy version of romance, dude.” I stare at him blankly. “We think we know what’s best and want to save the women we love from us because we never feel we’re good enough for them. It’s all self-sacrificing shit like that. What we don’t realize is that they don’t want to be saved from us, they’re the ones that want to saveusfromourselves.”
“I’m not sure I’m following.”
Sean rolls his eyes as he shakes his head. “The lesson here is this: don’t make decisions for your woman. Let her make her own decisions.”
“That’s deep,” I snort, taking a sip of my tea.
“It’s the truth. It’s why I’m happily married to the love of my life with a baby on the way.”
I choke on my drink. “What?”
Sean’s smile is a mile wide. “Just found out. Julia’s seven weeks pregnant.”
“Holy shit, congratulations, man.” I lean across the table and pat him on the back.
“Thanks. It’s kind of surreal, ya know?”
“I can imagine. You’ll be a great dad, bro.”
We spend the rest of the time shooting the shit and catching up on things like we would have pre-Kate, when I was just a regular moody bastard, instead of a moody, brokenhearted bastard. He tells me some of the ridiculous baby names Julia has mentioned, and some equally ridiculous ones he’s considered.
We also talk a little more about Kate, and by the time we leave Harry’s, I feel like I’ve got a pretty decent plan for getting her back. If only she’ll have me…
***
“I’ll see you in the A.M.,” Sean calls out before setting his helmet on his head and securing the strap. I nod, then do the same. We start our bikes together and pull out into the street. We live in the same part of town, so we’ll ride side-by-side most of the way.
I’ve missed this…riding with Sean, even if it’s just the five miles home. It’s a camaraderie we share beyond the limits of friendship. A brotherhood, if you will. The only thing that feels better than cruising with my best friend is having my girl on the back of my bike.Mygirl. Hopefully she’ll have me back. I run through all the possible scenarios in my mind as I ride. The good, the bad, the—
What the fuck?
We’re riding through an intersection and the bright white lights in my peripheral vision, just beyond Sean, are too fucking bright. They’re too close. They’re blowing through the red light.
Sean!
It all happens so fast, but it seems like slow motion.
I turn my head to the right and meet Sean’s wide, terrified eyes. Just beyond him I see the truck. It’s close…too close…and getting closer. A horn is blaring somewhere…it sounds like it’s miles away.
I meet Sean’s eyes again, noting the fear in them, before releasing my throttle. Then it all goes black.
